Family Lunch
by Rosesdancinginmymind
Summary: Intended to be a drabble. Bit of SQ but mostly a Regina centric family story. T because there is a small reference to abuse.


_AN: Okay this was actually intended to be just a small drabble but ended up going a bit long but I think it still works. AU as Cora is still alive and in this story Rumpel is Regina's father. There is SQ in here so if you don't like that then don't read. I own nothing but a laptop and the skill of essay avoidance. Okay, enjoy the story :)_

You've been dreading this day. Well maybe dreading is a bit of an overreaction but still there's an unsettling feeling in your stomach that things just won't go well even if you hope they do. You check your outfit in the mirror, a simple blue dress that cuts off just above the knee and a black blazer. You take a deep breath and check your hair again. You're stalling. You know that. Who'd have thought that of all things a lunch would be the thing to make you, the former evil queen so nervous? But, you remind yourself this is no ordinary lunch. It's lunch with your mother, who recently got her heart back and spends nearly every moment you're with her either frantically apologising or surprisingly asking you about each and every aspect of your days which is nice if not a little overbearing at times. It's not just lunch with her though, your father, who apparently was not the man who raised you but as it turns out is Rumpelstiltskin, a man who has manipulated you more times than you count and now also spends most of his time with you attempting to make things right. Now, you do love both of them, which has taken some time and a hell of a lot of therapy with Dr Hopper, and things with them are normally good, separately. When it's just you and her or just you and him then everything goes alright. It's just when they're together that everything seems to go wrong. They normally start arguing and bickering and bringing up old issues that now don't really matter. Is it really too much to ask for them to get along? You check the clock and realise that you should get going. Last thing you need is for them to argue about why you're late.

* * *

As you leave the house you get a text from Emma. She and you have worked out a custody schedule for Henry where you now both get equal time with him. You glance at the text, _Hey Regina, can we meet up and talk later? _ You feel your heart flutter a little at the message but then remind yourself that she took your son, you're supposed to hate her not like the damn woman. _What about_? You know you're being abrupt but you're now running late. Your phone beeps again. _Henry_. Of course, what else would the two of you talk about? You brace yourself hoping that this day just could go without arguments. You just need your parents to get along and not to start a fight with Emma and then you can relax. _Okay, I'll meet you at the docks around half 1? _You're nearly at the diner when you finally get a response _Okay, see you then, enjoy your lunch__. _ You smile a little at the sentiment at the end and wonder how she knows before it clicks in your mind that Henry must have mentioned it to her. You put your phone away and enter the diner.

* * *

As you walk in you look at the clock. Crap. You're 10 minutes late. You see your mother sitting at a booth and rush over with an apologetic look on your face. She smiles at you before raising a brow at you, this being her new method of scolding. "Sorry, I'm late" you say. "Where's Dad?" She gives you a look at this, she's not got used to you calling him that and you don't think she likes it but it took you 8 months to even call him that so you're not about to stop now. "He's just in the bathroom". You sit in the seat next to her. You prefer to sit on the end of the booth especially today as you need to meet Emma after this anyway. She quickly gives you a hug when you do and Ruby comes over to ask what you want to drink.

"Just a coffee please Ruby" she offers you a small smile, she has been witness to the past few lunch disasters with both your parents and is clearly also prepared for another one. Your father walks over and sits on the opposite side. "Hello Regina" he says "glad you decided to put in an appearance" you smile before apologising. Your mother, however doesn't seem to appreciate his attempt at humour. He notices Cora glaring at him. "What?" he sneers.

"I don't appreciate your glib tone Rumpel. No need to chastise her for being late"

"No I suppose you've already punished her being so?" you sigh, you had hoped you'd at least get through 5 minutes before an argument arose.

Your mother looks like she's about to retaliate and you see how much his remark about her past treatment of you has hurt her so you take a deep breath before intervening.

"Look, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry I was late. Mother, he was just making a joke and Dad, please just let it go, can we just have lunch please?" Ruby drops off your coffee as you finish and gives you a quick thumbs up. "Thank you Ruby"

Your parents both look at you after that and both apologise before their attention shifts to you and what you've been up to recently.

For the next 30 minutes lunch goes fairly smoothly, you eat, you talk and you think that perhaps they can get along for a change until Ruby comes to refill your coffee and accidentally spills some on you.

"Oh God. Regina I'm so sorry, here" she says passing you a towel.

"It's alright Ruby, really I'm fine" you offer a smile to show that it is and really aside from a small stain on your jacket it is.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Rumpel asks.

"She's fine Rumpel, it was just a bit of coffee" Cora scoffs.

"Well I'm sorry for being worried about my daughter"

"Oh, so now she's your daughter? I raised her. She's my daughter!"

"You're the one who didn't tell me. You lied to her and you hurt her"

"So did you!"

This argument is beginning to get louder and is scarily reminiscent to you of the arguments you used to have with Emma. The words "He's my son, not yours" ring in your mind and you wonder if this is how Henry feels. You need to see him now and apologise. Listening to your parents bicker is making you feel like you're being pulled into two different directions and that neither seems to care that they are upsetting you. You hope that Henry doesn't feel like that but you need to apologise in case you did, he after all is the one suffering when you and Emma argue like this. You need to fix things with Emma.

They are now yelling at each other. This is too much. You feel like you're going to suffocate if you sit and listen to this anymore and so without a word to either one of them you slip out of the diner with tears in your eyes. Neither notice. As you leave, you hear someone call your name so turn and see Ruby holding out a take-away cup of coffee. When you don't take it she walks closer to you and hands you the coffee. "Here, take it."

You don't understand. "Thank you"

"It's okay, figured you needed it after world war III erupted in there"

You smile which causes a few tears to squeeze their way out, you hope she doesn't notice, she does. You see her deliberating before she quickly hugs you and says "Hey, it will get better, I mean you and Emma used to fight like that all the time and you don't now. Just give them time"

You know she's trying to make you feel better. You bite down the urge to make a cutting remark and instead say "thank you, I have to go" she gives you a smile and waves goodbye as she walks back into the diner. You hope she's right about them, you hate that she compared them to you and Emma because it reminds you of how much you hurt Henry with your fighting.

* * *

You get to the docks early having left the diner sooner than you needed to. You sit alone with your thoughts as you watch the waves. Both your parents call but you ignore them. You don't want to talk to them right now. You want to talk to Emma. You need to talk to Henry. You look down at your watch and see it's 1:20. 10 more minutes you think. As if you've conjured her up you hear footsteps and turn around to see a head of blonde curls and her black coat approach. She looks concerned and you realise that your earlier tears are still visible on your face. You look away, feeling ashamed of looking so weak in front of her. She sits on the bench next to you and wraps her arms around you before asking "So how was lunch?" Just thinking about it makes you start crying again and you look at her for confirmation before burying your head in her shoulder. "Wow, that good?" she jokes. You smile in spite of yourself and mumble "yeah". She lets you cry for a few minutes before you sit up and decide to pull yourself together. "We need to do better" you blurt out.

She gives you a confused look, "What?"

You ignore her confusion before continuing, "No more fighting Emma. We need to be better Emma. We need to be nicer to each other. I don't want Henry to see any more fighting. Please?" you realise you must sound completely crazy but the blonde just gives you an understanding look, brushes a few strands of hair from your face and says "Okay, no fighting". You sit and talk for a few minutes about Henry's parent-teacher conference, she wanted to know is you wanted to come, actually enjoying each other's company before she asks "So what brought this on?"

It's your turn to look confused.

"Well normally when we sit down to talk about Henry you come in all guns blazing but today is different" you frown before she says "Good different, you're actually quite nice to talk to you know"

You smile. "Thank you Emma. I had lunch with my parents today" you sigh, "they argue like we used to and I guess today was just the last straw, I was sitting there listening them to yell at each other and I realised that it must be what Henry feels like. I don't want him to feel like that. I want to be better for him, you know?"

"Yeah I do" she says, "Hey, I'm sorry that your parents can't get along but for what it's worth I'm glad it made you want to change and do better for Henry. I'm proud of you"

You try not to start crying but can't help it; "Really?" you hate how small your voice sounds.

"Yeah, you're a good mother Regina, you love Henry and you want to do what's best for him"

Her words are too much, they're everything you want to hear but it still is overwhelming to hear them out loud especially from Emma. She hugs you again and holds you while you cry.

When you stop crying, you lean back but remain in her arms, "I'm sorry I'm such a mess today, it's just been a rough day I guess"

She wipes away one of the tears from your face, "it's okay Regina, whenever you need to talk I'm here"

"Really?"

She nods and you don't even think before you kiss her, you panic before you feel her kiss you back. It feels warm. It feels safe. It feels right. You pull away when you need air with a smile on your face, you see the matching smile on her face. She grabs your hand and pulls you up. "Come on" she says with a small tug, "let's go get Henry"

"Together?" you ask, almost afraid to feel hopeful.

She smiles at you and says "Together"

* * *

(1 week later)

You have now apologised to Henry so many times that he has actually told you to please stop doing so because he forgives you. You smile at the fact that he took to you and Emma being together so easily. Since that day at the docks the three of you have had dinner together every day, you've watched movies, you've played game and each night you have actually been happy. You've had a couple of minor arguments but they're now more playful than they used to be, you feel like the three of you are a family. You check your outfit in the mirror, you've gone for a black dress and a red blazer today. You don't have that feeling of dread like you did last week. Perhaps last week's lunch was actually a good thing, as horrible as it was it got you. Emma walks out of the bathroom and walks up behind you wrapping her arms around you.

"Morning beautiful"

You smile, "Morning Emma" she kisses you and says "so what are you thinking?"

"Just that last week's lunch wasn't as bad as I thought it was"

"Moms!" you hear Henry yell as he pads down the stairs "I'm gonna be late"

She chuckles at his subtlety and says "Well I guess we better go drop the kid off, do you want me to give you a lift to the diner?"

"Sure" you say, looking down at your feet, she tilts your chin up, "Hey, it'll be fine Gina"

"I hope so"

* * *

You kiss her again as you get out of the car, "Will I see you later?" you ask because you're still scared that she's going to leave you. She smiles at you, "Of course you will, hey, have a good lunch" she says before driving to the station. You wave at the retreating beetle, a smile on your face as you wander into the diner. Neither of your parents is here yet so you sit at the bar and order a coffee.

"Well you look happy" Ruby says as she pours you a cup.

"Yep"

"Oh, come on spill" you've come to enjoy this weird sort of friendship you and she have going. You realise how good it feels to have people looking out for you.

"Okay, well after lunch I went to go meet Emma" she raises an eyebrow and gestures for you to continue, "well after how well it went last week I was a bit upset" you bite your lip.

"Hey," she reaches across for your hand, "we're friends right?"

You smile and nod. "Okay, then you can tell me this stuff in confidence, don't worry, you can trust me Regina"

It's good to hear. "Okay, well she hugged me and we talked and then I kissed her" you think for a moment that the other woman's eyes are about to pop out of her head. "Well it's about time!"

"What?" you ask surprised. You thought you'd kept your crush on the blonde pretty quiet.

"Oh come on Regina you and her have obviously had a thing for each other for ages, it's about time one of you made a move, so I'm guessing she's the reason for that smile on your face?"

"Yep"

"Good for you Regina" you smile. The bell rings and your father walks in followed by your mother. You smile and wave at them both. They sit either side of you. "Good morning Regina" your father says, "Morning honey" your mother says, both giving each a subtle glance having clearly noticed the smile on your face. "Good morning" you reply.

You realise they're both staring at you, well at least they're not arguing you think. Finally you look at both of them before asking "What?"

Your mother smiles at you, "What's got you so happy?"

You shrug, "nothing"

You don't notice them share a look over your head, "Oh, really?" your father asks.

"Yes" your phone goes off and you smile when you see it's Emma asking if everything is alright. Suddenly the phone is plucked from your grasp by your mother, "So, then Regina, were I to check this phone I would find nothing strange?"

"Really Cora, I should check it, I'm much better acquainted with the technology of this land"

As you try to get the phone out of your mother's grasp she suddenly laughs and says "You're right" before tossing it to Rumpel who catches it with ease. It suddenly occurs to you that not only are they not arguing but that they seem to be working together, against you mind, but still they're actually joking around with each other. They keep going attempting to guess your secret as you wonder what is going on with your parents today.

"Hey, Regina"

"Regina"

You realise they're trying to get your attention, "Sorry, what?"

"Wow, she wasn't even listening to us, how horribly rude, wouldn't you say so Rumpel?"

"Oh definitely Cora, very disrespectful, here we are taking an interest in the adventures of our daughter and she won't even listen. Tsk. We'll have to ground her" he replies with a smile.

"What?!" you say incredulous as to this conversation.

"Oh I agree, at the very least we should confiscate the magic phone, I believe that's a punishment parents use in this realm?"

"You can't do that!" you're trying not to laugh at the fact that your parents are attempting to discipline you as if you were a teenager, you try to sound angry but you're happy that they are at least in agreement on this conversation even if it is insane.

"Well you could just tell us what's going on instead dearie"

You raise a brow at him, "I will if you two will"

"What?"

"Last week you two were ripping each other limb from limb and now you're joking around, so what happened?"

"Well" Rumpel begins, "after you left last week and wouldn't answer our calls Cora and I realised that our arguing was upsetting you and I'm sorry Regina, we should have realised that sooner."

"I'm sorry too honey," she reaches over and squeezes your hand, "The whole point of these lunches was to make you happy but instead we were just squabbling, so after you left we sat down and hashed it all out"

"Really?" you almost can't believe this is happening.

"Really" he says, "now I can't promise that we won't ever fight, but I promise that we will at least try not to do it in front of you, after all the most important thing to both of us is that you're happy"

"and if that means putting up with each other so you can have a family lunch then we are both more than willing to do that for you"

You feel like your heart might actually burst from this warm feeling you're having right now. They're actually agreeing to put aside their differences for you, you realise that you have your family now, your mother, your father, Henry and now Emma. You smile and realise that they're waiting for you to say something. You turn around and wrap one arm around each of them so that you're in some sort of three-way hug. You smile and just say, "Thank you, I love you mom, I love you dad." This is the first time you've said this to either of them and they both start crying which startles you as you've never seen either of them do so. You pull away a little worried. They register your concern, Rumpel looks at you and says, "Happy tears Gina, I love you too". Cora nods in agreement before adding "Love you honey" and pulling you back into the three way hug.

You hear the bell ring and see Emma run into the diner looking frantic, clearly your non reply worried her. She quickly sees you all and smiles at you before wandering over. "Everything okay here?" she asks with a knowing smile.

"Everything's great Emma" you reply and she suddenly leans in and kisses you oblivious to the shocked gasps from your parents on either side of you.

Rumpel is the first to recover, "Well I guess we got out answer" he says with a smile.

"So", Cora begins, "When are we all going to have a family dinner then?"


End file.
